Random entries on observations throughout the fitness world and other relevant encounters.
I'm not above or below, I'm with you.

Monday, March 11, 2013

It shouldnt be easy...

(Originally written 11/21/11 but still relevant)This
is a topic that has always come up and until recently, for some reason, I wasn’t
able to put into a proper context.

Here's
an example: We're in the middle of the workout and things are progressively
getting more intense and you're not really sure why. You're out breath, your
body is fatiguing rather quickly and now you start to doubt yourself. You say
"I'm so out of shape," and I reply "No, this is hard! This shouldn’t
be easy for anyone."

For
some reason, that’s been a hard point to sell. Sometimes, I think people don’t
believe me and I just say it to make them feel better. Not true. Trust me, I've
said it the other way too. "I'm so out of shape," and I've replied
"Yeah, I don’t know what your deal is today but you're not bringing
it."

I
recently posted a workout on the Facebook page that I found on YouTube. It was
a trainer taking some NFL linebacker through a functional power circuit.
Everyone who trains with me knows this is what we love :). So the workout is 4
rounds and 10 reps of pull-ups, burpees, lateral hurdles, hang cleans, and plyo
push ups. People who have been with me long enough to have learned how to hang
clean has probably done a circuit very similar.... and probably a lot better
than the linebacker. The female trainer went through it one time AND was able
to talk about how to perform the movements. Then the big boy got up there and
about half way through, you could see him give a look to someone off camera
like "are you kidding me?" Pouring with sweat, he finished 1 round.
Obviously he could’ve finished it but this is just where the video ended.

My
point is, this guy is an NFL linebacker, probably one of the best athletes in
the country and he very clearly knew he was in the middle of a very hard
workout. Regardless of all his previous training, all his hours in the weight
room and all the miles he's run... this was still hard.

Don't
mistake these workouts kicking your butt as you being out of shape or that
you're not getting in shape
(that’s the other example I hear a lot of. People feel they're not
progressing). These workouts should always push you to your limit... and then
nudge you past it. And then we'll do it again and again and again. And that’s
the point, that’s the fun and the journey. If your cardio is easy... that’s a problem. If
your workouts do not leave you completely
exhausted... that’s a problem.

Be
prepared to lose your breath... be ready to crunch so hard you can’t breathe...
know what it feels like when you literally cannot lift your arms... when your
legs feel like rubber and you know you need to be careful walking up the
stairs... when the sweat is running through your eyes and you exhale out of
your mouth and you can see the sweat come off you lip. The part where our hands
are on our knees and we're trying to slow down our breath and we can feel our
heartbeat through our chest and we look in the mirror and see the pulse in our
throats and taking a seat has never felt better.... this is what we came for.